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May 25, 2006
It was almost June and Mrs. Muncey was still
at a loss as to what to get her husband for
Father's Day. What DO you buy the
53-year-old ULHRA Rookie of the Year?!?
Certainly, a neck tie will not do.
Debi Muncey, owner of the U-43 Unlimited
Hydroplane which launched then 29-year-old
Wil Muncey's unlimited driving career had an
idea. She picked up the phone and called Pat
Roach. A few hours later, the Munceys were
on their way to San Diego to hand over a
Cashier's Check and become the owners of the
UL-136 LaCucuracha hydroplane.
Once back home, the little red boat that
could - and DID - will sport a new UL number
and a new name. Everything else will remain
the same.
Engine-builder extraordinaire John Barrett
will stay involved with the program. Coming
onboard as Crew Chief and back-up Driver is
Joe Souza. Smokin' Joe brings decades of
racing experience to the team. Chris Dreewes
on radios is the Team Manager overseeing
this new acquisition as well as the Muncey's
E-83 8 cylinder Wyatt's Diamond
Jeweler's presents Elaine's American Maid.
The Munceys hope to have both boats at
Tastin & Racin' in Issaquah June 10-11.
Debi Muncey
First person account of first ever hydroplane run.
Rookie owner-driver of
the UL-13 Celtic Racing Team, J. Craig Fletcher,
made his first laps ever in a hydroplane on Saturday
(5-20) at Spring Training. Last summer he was a
hydroplane fan. He went to Port Angeles to watch
Strait Thunder, the season ending race. He returned
home to Mercer Island WA the proud owner of the
UL-559 Outlaw; purchased from Pingree Conflitti that
weekend.
Considering what the
team had gone through the last 3 months in getting
ready for Spring Training, just getting on the water
should have been satisfaction enough. Nope.
Fletcher's performance on the race course, along
with the performance of the UL-13 were both
impressive, including 5 laps near 90 mph in less
than ideal hydroplane conditions. Here now is J.Craig's own account of
his team's remarkable first weekend on the water.
We got off to a wet start..., naturally
because this is boat racing. There were
thunder storms Friday and it rained well
into the early hours of Saturday. Then
we got to the course and prepared to run
for our first time ever - but lets
rewind.
We left Auburn, Washington at 9:00 am
Friday and stopped for a meeting at
Suncadia in Roslyn, Washington about
10:30am. Nice development with wonderful
vistas surrounding an alpine golf course
- but not today, we were here on
business. Back on the road we pulled
into Richland, Washington for a press
conference at HAPO Community Credit
Union at 2:00pm. Thanks to quick work by
Dean and Kathy the boat looked great -
so much so that we were the leadoff
interview for the 11:30 pm KNDU sports
report.
Saturday morning back to the pits at
8:00am. The boat is wet, the
tools/equipment are wet and they are
forecasting thunder showers inside of 4
hours. Not what we had hoped for,
none-the-less the crew soldiers on and
prepares for the day. We setup, Van
tunes the engine, we finish the drivers
meeting and prepare to lift. Boat on the
water at 10:15am and I manage my way
down to the dock, hop in the cockpit and
find 3 inches of water awaiting me -
not the crews fault! I replaced the
weather stripping on the emergency hatch
and it is NOT sealing. I race to the
hardware store (engine now cooling)
while the crew lifts the boat out and
back onto the trailer.
I return 30 minutes later, Dean affixes
the new weather stripping and we are
back on the water at 11:00am. We don't
detach the sling, time for a crucial
test, are we dry? Not a permanent fix
but the $6.95 window weather stripping
is doing the job. Into the cockpit,
belts on, radio hooked up and air system
engaged. Time to fire - and fire it
does! I pull away at 2,000 rpm and step
into it. The engines 850+ horsepower
feeling their oats for the first time. I
was warned that there might be a problem
planing - but we pop right up. The
Rain-x streams water off the windshield
and we are moving out onto the course.
Time for a conservative lap. We have
spent 12 weeks rebuilding virtually
everything but the sponsons and we have
no idea what to expect. Does the boat
track? Does the gear-box hold together?
Does the engine develop the horsepower
we think it should? Take it up to 5500
rpm down the back straight and
everything feels fine. Oil pressure is
up, water temperature is down, boat is
running true. Timid rookie driver backs
off at the entrance buoy and drops the
rpm's to 5000 before stepping back into
it. Pull through the corner and out onto
the front stretch - I've dropped too
much speed in the corner and take most
of the straight away to rebuild it - 82mph.
Two more laps at 80mph
and 82mph.
What a rush, I hope the crew were as
thrilled as I was. A new team, a
monumental amount of work and a timid
driver - we begin with a three lap
average of better than 81mph!
Afternoon session, a hiccup. Boat takes
off well but won't build beyond 4000 rpm
- I can't see, we are plowing and there
is a 3 foot wall of water in front of me
at over 30mph. After a brief, but vocal
panic I shut down and we are towed back
to the dock. This is not the impression
our team has set out to establish. Now
the rookie driver jumps out of the
cockpit to attend to his right hand
which has 9 second degree burns
blistering - result of a rookie mistake
with "warm" headers at the photo op
after our first run...
Five minutes later, back at the dock
with bandaged hand I query what the plan
is. Everyone looks at me dumbfounded and
says "Put on your helmet and get out
there!"
Back in the cockpit, engine fires
immediately and I pull away at 2000rpm,
step on the pedal and BAM we are moving.
Around the east
turn I pull into the backstretch and
begin to feel the afternoon breeze. In
the morning the water was flat but there
was a fair amount of flotsam and jetsam
flowing down river from the nights'
storm, now the water is clean - except
for the white caps. I build to 6800rpm
and commit to not drop below 6400 in the
corner. The water is rough from the
entrance buoy to the apex buoy in the
west corner but I stay committed
and pull past the exit buoy - first lap 91mph.
The water is so much calmer moving
downstream and I scream into the east
corner at 6800 rpm - keep it at 6500rpm
and fly onto the backstretch. I am now
appreciating why I have a custom
manufactured racing seat on order, mind
you not in the boat yet. We bounce up
the backstretch and enter the west turn
at 6600rpm - keep it at 6400 rpm and rip
down the front straightaway - second
lap 91mph.
I have been joined on the course by Dick
Lynch in the ACCS class G-13. My crew
chief gets on the radio to tell me he is
catching up and I ask if he is inside or
outside - he is outside. I power into
the east corner and prepare for the
backstretch - we are beginning to bounce
a bit now. Belts are no longer as tight
as they once were as I enter the west
turn, keep the rpm at 6500 and rocket
back onto the front straightaway - third
lap 89mph.
Dick is no longer catching us,
the water is too rough to risk the
equipment by running us down.
Beginning to think I have a feel for
this now and move through the east turn
at 6500rpm - up the backstretch at
6800rpm and... I've seen it but never
before experienced it, we're sponson
walking. Keep calm and drive to the
entrance buoy, hook the skid fin and hit
a hole - I'm flying, not figuratively
but literally. The MSD rev limiter kicks
in for the first time and I explode
(this is not a faint effort) on the
canard pedal - the boat immediately
dumps air, drops forward and bounces off
the water. Back in contact with "terra
firma" and still on the throttle I
rebuild rpm - fourth lap 82mph.
Now on the "flat" side of the course I
keep my foot down the entire way and
enter the east
turn at 6800rpm exiting at 6600rpm - so
looking forward to the west
turn. But the wind has dropped and the
ride up the backstretch is not the
nightmare I envisioned moments ago. I
hit the entrance buoy at 6800 and exit
at 6600 flying down the front straight
for the last time - fifth lap 92mph.
Back to the dock. I can't describe the
feeling! I just turned 5 consecutive
laps averaging nearly
90mph on the water the second
time I was strapped into the cockpit. To
clarify not just "the cockpit" but the
first cockpit I've ever sat in. I had
hoped that I could run an
85mph lap
and not embarrass anyone - I've
just run three
laps in the 90's (good thing
MaMishk left for Seattle after the first
run - not sure she would have been up
for this).
My undying thanks to Dean, Van, Kathy
and Rick. We made it to Spring Training,
we went out on course and we exceeded my
expectations by nearly 10mph.
Now the unqualified rookie can troll out
in lane 6 and gain some raceday
experience at Tastin N' Racin before our
return trip to the HAPO Community
Thunder Cup in Tri-Cities, July 28.
J. Craig Fletcher
Celtic Racing - UL13
UL-7 ready for the season.  The
UL-7 "Controller", a Steve Balcer hull, has been
upgraded at Balcer's shop in Michigan to UL
specifications. Owned by Jay Tolbert the "Controller"
will compete on the UL circuit with Tolbert behind the
wheel. He is returning June 1st from his overseas
assignment as an air traffic controller; hence the
 boat's
name. Jay says, “man am I ready to join the ULHRA this
season”! Still some work to be done, but crew chief Mark
Walters will have her ready for testing June 24th on
Grand Island, NY. The following weekend (July 1 & 2) the
team heads north to participate in the ULHRA’s
demonstration at Ogdensburg, NY. Then it’s off again
even further north for our first weekend of competition
July 7, 8, & 9 in Quebec for the annual Regates de
Valleyfield".Tastin' n Racin' has host hotel. Larkspur Landing Home Suites Hotel (formally Candlewood Suites) 15805 SE 37th Street Bellevue -just minutes north of Lake Sammamish State Park- Phone 425-373-1212 Ask for Tastin' n Racin' Rates Rates are the following: Studio Queen $99 a night plus tax. King 1 bedroom $109 a night plus tax. And Run of the house $104 a night plus tax 2 couples can be in each room for the same rate. Rooms have kitchenettes. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE
BY JUNE 5TH.  The
2006 edition of Thunder & LIGHTS Magazine is now
available. The official publication of ULHRA, Inc. is
the largest ever produced: 96 pages with roughly 400
color photographs. The magazine covers ULHRA racing in
2006, recaps 2005 and provides the history of the
Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Series back to its
launch in 1995. Features include Historian Fred
Farley's recap of Greg Hopp's first driving title in
Unlimited Lights, contributing writer Brad Luce's
"primer" for the first time attendee of a ULHRA race,
and suggestions on how best to enjoy each of our race
sites written by people who've been there; Tracy Morgan,
Marie Frauenheim and Patty Darling. The
magazine includes 20 Unlimited Lights teams, plus
entries in Thunderboats American Challenge Cup Series
and the Lighter than LIGHTS series.
Thunder & LIGHTS Magazine
will be available at all ULHRA race sites and at
newsstands in various markets. It is also available by
mail. $4.95 per copy for USA addresses, and $5.95 for
non USA delivery; postage included.
For mail orders, send check
or money order for each copy to
Thunder & LIGHTS Magazine
ULHRA, Inc.
12065 44th Place, South
Tukwila, WA 98178 More Spring Training by Gold Cup Video
Spring Training by Gold Cup Video
Twelve teams attended the 4th
annual Spring Training open testing session on Saturday May
20th. It was co-hosted by the Tri Cities Water Follies
Association and ULHRA, Inc on the HAPO Community Credit
Union Thunder Cup course on the Columbia River. ULHRA will
return for the HAPO sponsored Thunder Cup, July 28-30.
Of the twelve, 6 were from the
Unlimited Lights series, 4 from the Thunderboats American
Challenge Cup Series and two from the Lighter than LIGHTS.
The most active team on the
water was the UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade-Happy go Lucky as
driver Greg Hopp took several runs to sort out his new
ride. In the off season the team acquired the former UL-9
American Eagle. According to team owner Jerry Hopp they
were working on handling issues related to the skid fin. By
the final run which cracked 116 mph for the quickest run
of the day, those handling woes appeared to have
dissipated.
Next on the speed ladder was
Thunder Valley Racing's UL-40 Miss Red Dot Corporation
steered to a lap of 114+ mph by new driver Brian
Perkins. The team spent the off-season working to improve
the performance of the "Fabulous Forty" and appeared to have
made some progress. Next on the speed ladder was the
UL-72 Powerboats NW presents Miss Boat Electric driven by
Michael Flaherty at better than 113 mph. Also testing from
the UL contingent were UL-14 Miss Critical Logic with
owner-driver Paul Becker, and two new teams in ULHRA: Bob
Estes with the UL-33 Miss Graham Trucking and J. Craig
Fletcher with the UL-13 Celtic Racing entry. Conditions
weren't ideal for fast speeds as there was a constant wind
from the west which the teams battled all the way up the
backstretch. The Coast Guard advised that a major weather
"cell" was due around 1:00pm. The Tri Cities area had been
buffeted by two nights of severe thunder storms with high
winds and rain, but fortunately this new system bypassed
the race course. The storms ahead of Spring Training did
put a lot of debris in the river and cleanup delayed the
start of test runs by about an hour. Still, testing
continued up till the 5:00pm cutoff time.
Four teams from the Thunderboat
ACCS series tested including Dick Lynch in the G-13 Tempo,
Jerry Hopp in the G-15 Hopp Racing (the former UL-1 Mike's
Hard Lemonade), David Warren with the revamped G-329, and
Mike Eacrett with the brand new G-24 Racing LLC. Three
teams had successful test runs. In addition, Jerry & Greg
Hopp were able to take a few laps together in the two Hopp
Racing entries. The one team most disappointed was the
G-24. The one time they went in the water after test firing
the engine on the trailer, Mike Eacrett was unable to get
the engine started. Day long efforts to correct the problem
did not succeed and the boat remained on the trailer. Lynch,
Hopp, and Warren each were able to make multiple runs.
Good news for Shockwave
Racing. Owners Rick & Shawn Bridgeman attended Spring
Training and reported their latest attempt at acquiring new
cockpit glass for the boat that flipped at Tri Cities last
year has succeeded. The glass was delivered while the
Bridgeman's were in Tri Cities for Spring Training. Three
previous attempts included one incorrectly sized product,
and two other lost shipments. Cockpit glass is a critical
and difficult component for hydroplanes to produce since so
many of the cockpits in use are of different size, shape and
style. The boat has been completely rebuilt since the
accident, except for the glass. The Bridgeman's also
reported work continues on their brand new UL-17 at Ron
Jones' Jr's CLS facility in Pacific WA between Seattle &
Tacoma.
On the LTL side, Kennewick
Washington's own 18 year old Aaron Stephens took his first
ever run in a hydroplane. The S-32 Wynott, owned by Tracy
Oosterhout was first tested by last year's driver Charles
Xaudaro, then Stephens took the Stock 4 cylinder hydroplane
on the water. Stephens will be the Wynott's driver in 2006
as Xaudaro is moving up to the UL-11 Executif III that he
purchased along with partner Ryan Butler. Xaudaro, younger
brother of Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro is nicknamed "Ace" and said
the team may miss the season opener but will definitely be
ready for the HAPO Community Thunder Cup in late July.
Also, Idaho's Rob Hall brought his modified hydroplane, the Marine Dream to test prior to the LTL season beginning in 3 weeks.
The 10th annual Tastin & Racin
Festival will open the ULHRA season, June 10 & 11 at Lake
Sammamish State Park, just off Interstate 90 east of
Seattle.
John Lynch
P.R. Director, ULHRA, Inc.
Spring Training Event Itinerary May 19- 20, 2006 Friday, May 19th Crane set Anchors pulled & dropped in pits Docks/gangways dropped Some boats arrive in park Saturday, May 20, 2006 7:00 am Set Course Jerry Hendricks/Dan P. (City of Richland) 7:00 am Crane Operator Arrives Parish/Tannahill/Herod 7:30 am Team meeting in Park All WF & ULHRA ** Taryn responsible for all signing of waivers. If drivers have not signed, they will not be hooked up 7:30 am John Mostoller reviews safety and emergency response protocol 8:00 am PA system set-up ULHRA 8:00 am Patrol boat meeting Kelly Davenport & Patrol Boat Teams (Kelly checks all boats for emergency and safety items) 8:00 am Computer network/set-up ULHRA/Ed Nelson 10:00 am Testing begins All day (10:15 am Chinook Helicopter arrives in park – Armed Forces Day Ceremony – not WF) 12:30 pm Lunch (12:30 pm Important – Police Memorial speakers If we can have 15 minutes off the water at This time, KPD would be very appreciative!) 1:00pm-4:00 pm Testing continues All day (1:15 pm Chinook Helicopter departs park) 3:00 pm Jerry Hendricks departs TBD Park Clean-up, etc. Team effort Sleds returned to warehouse Buoy’s/pins pulled Anchors pulled Crane returned Docks/gangways pulled and stored Radios accounted for – returned to Maurer office on Monday
We made a mad thrash to get the new
Hopp Racing entry to Coulon Park and run the boat so that we
could see what we have. No time for paint, decals all the neat
stuff. Out of this came a couple of major "finds". One the strut
was not adjusted right and the boat had some handling problems.
Something easy to correct but one less lesson to learn. The
second was a lot more serious. Hidden by the trailer bunk was a
2 foot long crack on the inside of the airtrap, right rear side
(looks like someone ran over another boat, right Paul?). The
hint was when we brought the boat out of the water and put back
on the trailer. Water was leaking out of the crack.
The repair included cutting holes in
the deck and inside and outside of the airtrap. See
pictures. Had we painted the boat and then gone to a race
without testing we would be looking at a major hull repair at a
race site the night before the first heat. It was a lot of work
to get the boat ready to test, then pull all the equipment back
out to paint. On the other hand, had we painted the boat we
would now have to repaint the whole right rear of the boat
again.
Now trying to get the boat painted,
decaled, put the engine back in, pack the truck and a list of
stuff a mile long in time for Spring training in 10 days. Looks
like more midnight oil being burned. The good news was that we
remembered to bring the prop along.
Jerry
Watch Spring Training live this Saturday (May 20) right here.
Story: Spring Training, the annual pre-season test
session for ULHRA teams will be conducted this Saturday (May 20) at
Columbia Park in Kennewick WA.......the site of the annual HAPO
Community Credit Union Thunder Cup for Unlimited Lights, July
28-30.
Ten or more teams from the Unlimited Lights and
American Challenge Cup Series are expected to be testing as they
prepare for the 8 race series that opens next month at Issaquah WA
with the 10th annual Tastin n Racin festival.
Testing will begin at 10:00am Pacific time this
Saturday morning and can go as late as 6:00pm. Coverage via Live
Video Streaming will be available here at
www.ulhra.org. Log on Saturday
morning for details on how to connect. This will be the first live
action test of the video streaming project.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited Lights and American
Challenge Cup Series
Spring Training Preview #2.
A dozen or more teams are expected to be on
hand for the 4th annual ULHRA Spring Training. It takes place this
Saturday (May 20th) on the HAPO Community Credit Union Thunder Cup
course for Unlimited Lights. The testing session is co-hosted by ULHRA,
Inc. and the Tri Cities Water Follies Association; producers of the
annual Thunder Cup as part of Atomic Cup weekend (formerly known as the
Columbia Cup). The Lampson Pit area will be used along with Columbia
Park on the Kennewick side of the Columbia River. There is no admission
charged and fans will have greater access to teams at Spring Training
than they would at a race event.
Unlimited Lights (UL) American Challenge Cup
Series (G), and Lighter than LIGHTS hydroplanes will be testing
throughout the day. Because the UL championship is so closely contested,
and qualifying points can and do have a bearing on the season title,
more emphasis on preseason testing is being made by the teams. For that
reason, the two teams that have won the last 6 UL championships will
both be on hand.
UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade-Happy Go Lucky
driver Greg Hopp will be getting used to a new ride. In the off-season
the Hopp Racing Team acquired the record holding yet winless UL-9
American Eagle from builder-driver Paul Droullard. A retired tradesman,
Droullard was able to race only 6 times in two years. Despite not
winning a race, he qualified #1 twice and set the Unlimited Lights
single lap record of 123.324 mph at San Diego. Droullard also
broke Greg Hopp's competition heat record at San Diego last year in the
Final Heat. However, Greg Hopp also broke the record in the UL-1 and
won the Final heat so it's Hopp, not Droullard with the racing heat
speed record.
The UL-72 Miss Boat Electric driven by
Michael Flaherty wound up second in 2005, just 83 points behind Hopp.
It was Flaherty's first season at the wheel of the "red boat". He
picked up two victories and a great deal of experience which should bode
well for a strong 2006 campaign.
Two UL Rookie drivers will ply the waters of
the Columbia this Saturday. UL-33 Miss Graham Trucking owner-driver Bob
Estes steps up from the National Modified class in which he won the
Lighter than LIGHTS modified series in 2005. Estes, a former Air Force
Voodoo jet fighter pilot will campaign the entire 2006 season in the
former UL-10, acquired from Alabama's Wiggins Hydroplane Racing Team.
Another newcomer to UL racing, J. Craig
Fletcher will debut his UL-13 Celtic Racing entry; the former Outlaw
UL-559 that he purchased from Pingree Conflitti at last year's Port
Angeles Strait Thunder Regatta. Fletcher will be assisted by a couple
of former American Eagle crew members.
The UL-929 will race the entire 2006 season
once again, and at Tri Cities and Seattle will also carry sponsorship
from Graham Trucking Co. However, Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro will see
limited duty this season due to work responsibilities. Most events will
find Kelly Stocklin driving in Xaudaro's place with co-sponsorship from
K&K Machine. Stocklin drove the UL-40 for Thunder Valley Racing till a
construction related hand injury forced him from the cockpit with 2
races remaining in the 2003 season. Stocklin will provide engines from
his shop when he's campaigning the hull, with the regular Xaudaro Racing
crew. Xaudaro himself says he'll be racing at Seafair in Seattle for
certain. The rest of the season for Vince is undecided at this time.
One ongoing story may come to a conclusion
this Saturday. For several years Bill Nootenboom of Canby OR and his
Terill Motorsports team have been working on an extensive upgrade of
a Ron Jones Sr. hull built more than 30 years ago. Nootenboom, with
driver Wayne Howard Jr. expect to test this Saturday in preparation for
a full season campaign with their UL-85.
One of ULHRA's original "Young Guns" steps
into a full-time ride this season and it's one of the most improved
teams in the series. For the past two years with driver Harold Mills,
Thunder Valley Racing and their UL-40 Miss Red Dot Corp
gradually upgraded not only their reliability but also their
competitiveness. This was highlighted with a #3 qualifying run and team
record speed, plus victory in Heat 1A at San Diego last September.
Driver Mills took a career best 4th place in the UL Driver standings and
then decided to step away from driving. Now, Brian Perkins, featured as
one of the "Young Guns" in the Lighter than LIGHTS series in 2004 moves
into the ride full-time. Perkins drove for Pat Roach in the UL-136 in
2003 and 2004, and last year subbed for Greg Hopp in the UL-1 for two
heats at Detroit's Sweepstakes race. Off season "tweaking" of the hull
and engine package will be tried out for the first time this Saturday.
Despite a strong effort, we're told the
brand new UL-17 Ted's Red Apple Market being built by Ron Jones Jr. for
Rick & Shawn Bridgeman's Shockwave Racing Team won't be ready for Spring
Training. Still the ULHRA's pattern of adding new construction each
year will continue with the debut of the UL-17, possibly as soon as the
season opener at Issaquah WA, June 10 & 11. Two time National Modified
World Champion Dustin Echols is slated to drive with Rick Bridgeman as
backup.
The fledgling American Challenge Cup Series
is expected to be represented by 4 teams this Saturday. They include
the first all ACCS boat ever built: the G-13 Tempo from Impact Racing,
the same ownership as the UL-72. Dick Lynch will drive, moving over
from the U-5 Unlimited.
Joining the G-13 will be this year's new
construction entry, the long anticipated G-24 driven by Mike Eacrett.
This hull was built originally as a GP hydroplane by Ron Jones Jr. but
never raced. With crew chief Ron Brown the project has been converted
to ACCS specifications but retains the basic Jones' hull. Eacrett and
G-24 Racing LLC hope to greatly improve upon last month's "shakedown
cruise" and begin to get ready for racing. It will be Eacrett's return
to hydroplane racing after more than 10 years away.
David Warren and Bob Baker bring the G-329
Baker Equipment entry to Spring Training. The former UL-51 and one time
Grand Prix hydroplane had difficulties in 2005, but come to the 2006
season with eager anticipation. Hull and engine upgrades will be tested
this Saturday.
The fourth ACCS team will be very familiar
to Unlimited Lights fans. Jerry Hopp will debut the G-15 Hopp Racing
entry; the former UL-1. Upgrades to the Jamie Auld hull were performed
by the Hopp team 2 seasons ago with this in mind; a transfer to the ACCS
program.
Not expected this weekend are the other two
ACCS teams. The G-10 "High Pressure" of Milt and Charley Wiggins and
driven by Cal Phipps won't be on hand. Driving from Alabama to Tri
Cities and back for a test session is very expensive. Look for the team
to join the series at the first race, July 7-9 at Valleyfield, and
possibly for the UL demonstration event at Ogdensburg the weekend
before.
The other team is the one that was last
seen in a spectacular flip on the Tri Cities course last
July. Shockwave Racing's G-17 was supposed to be rebuilt and ready for
Spring Training. However, two failed deliveries of outsourced cockpit
replacement glass put the project behind schedule. The team can be ready
for Valleyfield which could make the first full ACCS event a 7 boat
affair near Montreal. Lots of interest, both from prospective teams and
race sites indicate the time has come for ACCS and these teams are ready
to show the way. ACCS boats range from 25 to 28 feet in length compared
to UL's at 20 - 26 feet and run supercharged engines that are larger and
more powerful than UL engines.
Tri Cities resident Aaron Stephens will be
among those testing in the Lighter than LIGHTS series; a program
established by ULHRA Inc. for those like Aaron who are looking to get
started in hydroplane racing. The Lighter than LIGHTS program
demonstrates to sportsman racers there is an upward path for their
racing passion. LTL, to UL, to ACCS; the path created by ULHRA, Inc.
Spring Training testing will begin this
Saturday at 10:00am and will run till 6:00pm or until all teams are done
for the day; whichever comes first.
John Lynch
P.R. Director, ULHRA Inc.
Spring Training, May 20 2006, Preview
Story: The
HAPO Community Credit Union Thunder Cup Course will be the site for Spring
Training 2006, the annual ULHRA pre-season testing session. The swift
Columbia River course at the Tri Cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland WA
will be the site of Spring Training for the third time in four years, and
once again the event will be co-hosted by ULHRA, Inc. and the Tri Cities
Water Follies; producers of the annual race in late July.
Five to seven
Unlimited Light (UL) hydroplane teams are expected to be joined by up to
five American Challenge Cup Series (G) teams, and a handful of teams from
the Lighter than LIGHTS series. Testing will begin at 10:00am at Columbia
Park in Kennewick on Saturday morning and continue until all teams have
completed their runs, sometime Saturday afternoon. Spring Training affords
ULHRA teams the opportunity to test on the course several times as the UL's
and LTL's prepare for the season opener at Tastin n Racin in Issaquah WA,
June 10 & 11. The ACCS teams are scheduled to begin their season in July at
the annual Regates De Valleyfield in Quebec.
Spring Training
weekend will commence at 3:00pm on Friday afternoon May 19th with a press
conference at HAPO Community Credit Union
Spring Training
testing by ULHRA teams is open for viewing by the public and free of
charge.
John Lynch
P.R. Director,
ULHRA Inc.
New LTL team, new price
on GP-154 and other hulls. Click here for updates from April, 2006
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